By Right
by partiallykritikal
Summary: After Hiccup is disowned, he demands to be given leave on Toothless, his property and right as a Viking adult. Set during and after the first film. AU. No Slash. -Complete-
1. Make it so

Disclaimer: No one should own this. Long live Marx!

He had no idea his father could get so angry. He knew it would be bad, it had been bad before but this was far worse than he expected. Even when he had caused half the livestock to get stolen by dragons, Stoick hadn't gotten this furious.

"…Dad, please" he pleaded, just trying to get his father to listen to him "they just defend themselves, they are good, gentle, kind, and intelligent creatures, who don't want to hurt anyone"

Here, Stoick started yelling directly into his son's face. Well, as directly as he could given the height difference.

"Good! Kind! They've killed hundreds of us! You're defending the creatures that killed your mother! Don't you understand what you've done! You throw your lot in with them, you're not a Viking. And that was obviously your beast out there. It had a saddle for Odin's sake!"

At this, Hiccup took a step back. He very nearly tried to beg the dragons' case - to explain that they were being controlled by the being in the nest. But then, he took another look into his Father's eyes. He knew that look, that stubborn anger. He had dealt with it all his life, and he knew that he would never be able to change his Father's mind. Now he knew that he had to do what he had been planning to do yesterday, to escape.

"Then give me my possessions, and let me take my leave. That is my right under law isn't it? As a banished citizen"

Now, Stoick seemed to grasp what he had done. It didn't matter though, what's done is done, and he steeled his resolve.

"Yes. You can take a small boat and some of your tools. You'll be able to make a living on one of the other isles."

"I won't need the boat. I get my things. As he is a beast, and you already acknowledged that he is technically mine, that includes the dragon. That is my right by law. I will fly away from this place." Hiccup was angry now; angry at his father, who wouldn't listen, angry at the tribe that had shunned him all his life, and angry at the stubbornness of Vikings, who clung to stupid ideals while refusing to adapt.

"Very well. Take your demon and leave" It would be good for his son, in the end, Stoick knew. When that beast tried to betray him for breakfast, he would learn his lesson. If he survived, they might even let him back on the island. If he didn't, he would go to Valhalla having died a warrior's death, knowing the error of his ways. With a heavy heart, but still angry mind, Stoick strode out of the hall to make arrangements.

000

Fortunately, Hiccup had already packed everything he wanted before the flight last night with Astrid, which meant he could go directly to Toothless, and spend as little time here as possible. When he walked through the village, he could feel the stares of the villagers. He had always been treated as a failure and useless, but never had he been treated as if he were carrying the plague.

When he arrived at his destination, it became apparent that Stoick had evidently gotten the message through to the dragon arena that Hiccup was to be given Toothless, because when he got there Gobber and Astrid were waiting for him. Over the past 15 years, they had been the only people to ever be nice to him. While Astrid had drifted away from him since they were little, at least she never tormented him like the other children had. And the flight they had shared last night had been wonderful, meaning more to him than anything else he had experienced with her. As he drew near, Gobber enveloped him in a hug, holding him close. It was the first time he had actually seen the old smith cry.

"Hiccup, lad" he said "I got you some tools. If you can find somewhere safe, you can start a forge. You'll need them". To a blacksmith, the tools they use are their most prized possessions. After examining them quickly, Hiccup realized that these were some of the best ones in the shop that weren't attached to spare hands. He knew Gobber wouldn't give them lightly, and it showed him how much he actually cared for him. He was more his father than Stoick, having practically raised him when Stoick threw himself into work after Valka got carried away by dragons. Gobber drew him into a quick hug after handing him the tool bag.

After they separated, it was Astrid's turn. Of all the Vikings, only she actually knew what dragons were like from their ride yesterday. "Promise me" Hiccup said "Promise me that you'll try to get them to change". She looked at him, tears in her eyes, and then nodded slowly as she pulled him into an embrace. They stayed there for a while, neither of them knew how long, both stoutly refusing to cry, but wanting to. As she pulled away, she gave him a single, chaste kiss on the cheek, much like the one last night. Startled, but already too emotional to have it make much of a difference, Hiccup turned to the door Toothless was locked behind.

Without needing Hiccup to tell him, Gobber opened the door that Toothless was locked behind. Gobber didn't really know what Hiccup had done, but it was obvious from the way he had stopped the beast from killing Stoick Hiccup had some control over it. Toothless carefully walked out, and took in what was happening. With a last look at his two friends, Hiccup mounted Toothless and flew off to get his things from the cove, after which he would leave Berk, finally breaking down and crying as he watched the only home he had ever known get smaller and smaller in the distance.

A/N: I'm not really a Marxist.


	2. Where no one goes

Disclaimer: No one owns this. Ownership is an illusion, just like conscious thought. All hail Freidrich Nietzsche!

It had been six months since Hiccup's betrayal, and nobody talked about him anymore. The last time someone mentioned his name around Stoick, the chief had to be restrained by half the village to keep him from beating the poor man to a pulp. Any joy he had in his life was gone, replaced by an emptiness which seemed to consume his life.

He was still a good chief, yet he did not take pride in his work anymore, and only seemed to show emotion during dragon raids, when he was more vicious and violent than ever. Gobber had taken a similar route, and hadn't been heard singing or seen smiling since.

Astrid, however, changed the most. She trained even more obsessively than before, something most of the villagers did not even think was possible. She no longer trained to fight dragons, though, now she trained to fight humans. Snotlout quickly learned to stop flirting with her after she broke both of his arms behind his back. When her father announced a marriage contract with a merchantman, the trader withdrew from the contract a week later, after having broken his legs in a mysterious fall. After this same accident happened to the next two suitors, proposals quickly stopped. And while she would admit it to no one, she blamed herself for Hiccup's departure.

She had known what was happening, and she could have done something to stop him. Anything would have been preferable to this.

It was half a year after Hiccup's departure when she snapped. Snotlout had been drunk, and was going on and on about how the traitor was probably fucking the dragon, and that he was never any good anyways. Rearing on him, she grabbed a nearby chair and smashed it over his back, hearing a sick cracking sound as his lower spine split in two.

The townspeople, already wary of Astrid, were now outraged. Snotlout, the perfect Viking, would never walk again. And why? Because she was defending a traitor's honor. A traitor who had committed the ultimate sin, that of working with dragons. Working with the enemy who had taken his own mother. When the healer told her what would happen to Snoutlout, she went to her house, gathered her things, and set sail in a small boat normally meant for fishing. If she had stayed when the village found out, she could be bludgeoned to death or worse by the mob. No one went after her, and she did not want to go back.

000

Sighing, Hiccup put the rod of misshapen steel back into the fire. Normally, he could have a simple sword done within an hour or two, but this was the fifth time today that he'd had to remelt the project. He knew why, too; it had now been a full two years since he had been outcast from his home, father, tribe, and … Astrid. The years had been good to him, and he had shot up in height and become much more toned from long hours at the forge.

He had thought it ironic; only by leaving had he become the Viking that his father had always wanted him to be. He had settled down on Fedje island, a small Viking colony that had never had problems with dragons, and had never had relations with Berk. While they were initially nervous of Toothless, they soon welcomed him with one open arm and another on their swords once Hiccup had done his best to prove that he and Toothless meant them no harm. While Vikings would normally be wary of strangers, they recognized his use as a smith, their own having passed away earlier that year.

Fedje was not the first place he had landed on, but it had finally begun to feel like home, even though he still missed Berk. He had taught the islanders to use Dragons to have a better lifestyle, and their quality of life was much better once Hiccup brought some friendly dragons from up north to help them with their daily activities.

Lost in his thoughts of his old home, he didn't notice when a beautiful young woman with raven black hair walked up to his forge and poked him in the back, her customary greeting. When this first started happening he always yelped and whirled around in shock, but by now he knew who it was and that she meant him no harm.

Heather had been his best friend since he saved her and her family from outcasts shortly after he landed on Fedje. That was the act that really helped him assimilate with the townspeople and gained him their trust. She was also the only person to know his whole story. As the daughter of the chief, she had much to relate to him, even if she had different expectations than him. She was the one who had gotten him the old forge and the house that was built next to it, and had even helped him enlarge it for Toothless.

"Hi Heather" Hiccup said as he turned around, a smile forming on his face "What brings you here?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to go flying when you were done. Skyrunner hasn't been out for a while, and it can be boring flying on my own"

Hiccup looked around the forge, and decided that a flight would be perfect to get his mind of things, knowing that he wouldn't be able to get anything done today anyways.

"Sure, Heather, that sounds great. I'm basically done here, so just give me a few minutes to clean up and grab Toothless and then we can get out of here" he responded, knowing full well that Skyrunner had just been out this morning, having seen Heather on her when he woke up. He guessed that she had seen how he was acting, and why, and had wanted to make him feel better. While some people might have been angry at her for lying, this only made him appreciate her as a friend.

Before too long, the duo were soaring though the evening air, all serious thought left behind in the forge. Normally Toothless would be nearly invisible against the darkening sky, but Hiccup had built some small lanterns that enabled Heather to see him clearly at night after a near-fatal experience involving a mid-air collision. These lights meant that while the dragon riders could not see the small fishing boat with a tattered Berk crest on its sail, the woman on board could see the dancing lights illuminating the shape of the night fury in the nighttime sky, and knew that she had finally reached her destination.

A/N: I don't really agree with Nietzsche, either, but his stuff is an interesting read.


	3. Stranger in a strange land

Disclaimer: Owning is, like, bad, dude. Why don't we all just chillax a little?

The first thing Hiccup noticed when he went to the market the next morning was a strange ship coming into the harbor. Fedje was so small that there was no pilot to guide ships in, but the man sailing the ship seemed experienced enough not to need one. The mainsail was already down, so as not to go into the harbor too fast, so Hiccup could not tell where the ship was from.

It was clearly worn, with many visible repairs along the hull. It was too small a craft to be a raiding party, but was not one of the few merchant vessels which visited Fedje on a regular basis. It was a foreign ship, and unusual, which meant that by the time the ship docked half the island had come to meet the mysterious visitor. When the sailor disembarked, however, Hiccup could see that it was not a man, but a woman. A woman with blond hair, a curved face, curvyer other bits, and … Astrid? Hiccup could do nothing. His eyes widened in shock, and he was convinced that his mind was playing tricks on him. The mysterious woman was the spitting image of his friend and long-time crush. Taller, certainly, although not as tall as Hiccup himself. Lean from over a year of living off the sea, hair and skin crusted with salt, the person who had just stepped off the hill down the hill could be no one else.

Still in shock, he barely picked up the conversation that Astrid was having with Heather. Heather had stepped forward from the crowd, introducing herself as a representative of Fedje island, and asking the stranger what her purpose was. It had been a long time since any strange new people had come to Fedje, in fact, Hiccup himself was the last one.

Hiccup's suspicions of the guest's identity were confirmed when she answered, "I am Astrid, formerly of Berk. I have come searching for a man named Hiccup. He has green eyes, brown hair, and rides a night fury. I heard rumors that a man like him lived here"

As Hiccup's shock changed to confusion and worry (What was she doing here? She's supposed to be on Berk), he noticed how well Heather responded, not showing any visible response to Astrid's statement, replying "And what would you want with such a man, should you find him?"

Astrid's answer, simple and calm, but somehow betraying the utter importance of her mission, was enough to let Heather point her in my direction. It was, "we need to talk".

Hiccup had only felt his entire world come crashing down on his head like this once before, when he had been exiled from Berk. Even then, he had managed to keep thinking, demanding his right as a Viking citizen to keep his property. Now, though, he could not even formulate a functioning sentence. He had left Astrid, knowing that she would be at least sort of safe on Berk. She would probably marry whoever her Father picked for her, and be happy. Perhaps she would be able to advace the cause of dragons a little bit. Now, though,it seemed everything he had assumed had been wrong. _Something_ happened, obviously, for she was now here, and he couldn't shake the feeling that he had abandoned her somehow.

He met Astrid's gaze for the first time in years when she gazed up the path in the direction Heather had pointed her in, and his mind simply ceased to function. He tried to tell what emotions seemed to lie in that gaze, witnessing a complex storm of fear, exhaustion, love, hate, and, most of all, regret. It was at this point that his no longer truly functioning brain decided that his body ought to follow suit, and he crumpled away in a dead faint.

000

When he woke, a few minutes later, he was in his bed, with the worried eyes of Heather looking over him. Before Hiccup could get up or even speak, Heather quieted him by placing a finger over his lips and saying "Just wait. You need some time to think before you see her"

Knowing she was right, as always ("_Honestly, Hiccup, it's like you don't even know how to think sometimes" was a favorite saying of hers, and it usually applied_), he laid back down to rest and try to comprehend what had just happened.

Two hours later, Hiccup finally left the forge. Making sense of what he had heard had been hard, not understanding the reasons behind it, but he decided that he really needed to talk to Astrid. What worried him most of all, though, was something Astrid said about being "formerly of Berk". Berk had been everything to Astrid. She had trained to be a shieldmaiden from a young age. It was her life. He jumped to fear for his town (what if it had been destroyed?), but quickly stopped that line of thought. Vikings were too stubborn to ever give up and die like that.

0000

When he went outside, she was waiting for him. Unlike earlier, though, fear was now her dominant emotion. He hoped it wasn't fear of him.

"Hi" Astrid started speaking first "It's been a while". Now that she was closer, Hiccup could more clearly see her. The years on the sea had not been the kindest. She had a plethora of new scars, she was encrusted with grime and salt, and was even missing part of a finger. Despite this, she still looked beautiful to him, although he would admit that he was slightly biased.

"Yes" he replied "it really has. Funny meeting you here". To this, Astrid gave a weary chuckle. "I came to find you. I left Berk" she replied "I thought that I ought to come find you. Haven't really thought passed that so far." Then, frowning, she punched Hiccup in the arm. "That's for waiting two hours to talk to me".

"I'm sorry" Hiccup said, smiling at Astrid's antics, and appreciating the fact that she was still the same person he had left behind on Berk. "It's just a bit much to get my head around, you know?" Pausing briefly, he then continued more seriously, "what happened to make you leave?"

Instantly, Astrid's eyes clouded with pain "I got in a bad fight. It ended up with Snotlout paralyzed. I couldn't stay after that. I decided that I ought to find you, and see how you were doing. What landed you here?"

"I flew on Toothless until I could find somewhere safe. We passed most of the islands over, but we had to land every once in a while. Eventually we found Fedje, and they never had problems with dragons here, so they didn't try to hurt Toothless" at this, he smiled down at said beast, who had walked up to them, and was eyeing Astrid curiously. Absentmindedly, he began to scratch Toothless' neck. "They were scared at first, but Heather – that's the chief's daughter you talked to earlier – helped get everyone to accept us. Now he's a part of life here, and I work as the smith"

Curiously, Astrid seemed crestfallen when he said this. "So, are you and Heather together now?" Cheeks quickly reddening at the thoroughly unexpected question, Hiccup began to stutter again for the first time in years "W-What? No! No, she's just a friend. Gods, Astrid, wha-, why-" he was cut off when Astrid grabbed him and pressed herself to him, pulling him into a deep kiss. Instinctively, Hiccup quickly gave in, and reciprocated the kiss before realizing what he was doing.

Jumping apart, they glanced around to find both Toothless and Heather, who had walked up to see what they were doing, standing in utter shock, Heather's mouth hanging open. While both of them jumped even further apart, staring at the ground and blushing furiously, Heather's mouth began to curl up into a mischievous smirk. "So, I see that you two have _reconnected_" her grin turned evil "What do you think Cami is going to have to say about this?"

If it was possible, Hiccup became even redder. After Astrid found out that Hiccup wasn't dating Heather, she had just assumed that he wasn't seeing anyone. Cursing herself she whirled accusingly on Hiccup, "You didn't say there was anyone else!"

"No, there isn't! Cami is just –" cut off by Astrid "what? Another 'good friend'" at this point, she had her ax out, and was waving it perilously close to Hiccup's throat. Heather, meanwhile, merely grinned as she watched the drama unfold.

"No! She's just someone who follows me around. Besides, you never even asked if there was anyone else! You just started kissing me. What the hell was that for! And Heather, why the hell would you do that!" Hiccup said, aiming the last phrase accusingly towards Heather.

Astrid, much more softly than before, asked, "So?" Hiccup stared back, confused, "So, what?". "Is there anyone else" she asked. "Oh, uh, no. I mean, some people asked me. Me! I mean, who would want me! But I guess I didn't want to".

At this confession, Astrid seemed to brighten up considerably, and pulled him into a hug. Hiccup could not have been more confused at this point. Everything was happening far too fast. He had nursed a crush for the blonde, true, and while remanents of it remained, that had been years ago. The three vikings and dragon stayed where they were, one elated, one confused, one curious, and one who thought that these humans could be too damn complicated sometimes.

000

The next three months passed much as they had the past year on Fedje. The curious stranger became a part of life, and before long she was no longer even recognized as a stranger at all. She had moved in to the forge house with Hiccup and Toothless, donating her ship to the local fishermen in return for a steady supply of fish for as long as the ship lasted. She helped Hiccup in the forge where she could, and quickly took the place of the village's most skilled hunter.

She and Hiccup grew closer together, and Hiccup was still a little confused about the whole thing. Overall, though, he couldn't deny that he was much cheerier, and didn't stop to brood quite so often anymore.


	4. Rains of Castamere

Disclaimer: Stealing things is Communist. I am not a communist. Therefor, I did not steal this, and it is not mine.

Life had settled back into a routine on Fedje since Astrid had arrived. The forge was lit, the dragons helped with the hard labor and defended against the odd raiding vessel, and Hiccup and Astrid seemed to be at peace with each other. Extremely at peace, in fact (Sometimes, screaming could be heard from the forge at night. The adults would tell the children not to worry about it with small, knowing, smiles, though, so it can't have been too bad). It was because of this peace, that nobody really batted an eye when Hiccup asked the chief if he would marry them about six months after Astrid arrived, and about a month or so since the late-night screams had started coming from the Forge house.

The Wedding itself was a simple affair. Hiccup had no Father to arrange things, and only small amounts of money saved up and Astrid had no recognized family to provide the dowry. Hiccup forged the swords for the wedding ceremony himself, and muscles toned by riding Toothless meant that he was able to anchor a sword firmly in a column in the great hall during the ceremonies, which was supposed to be a blessing for the marriage. It was only after the wedding was over and the feast had begun that anything interesting had begun at all.

Interesting, of course, does not necessarily mean good. Or even slightly beneficial. And in this case, the interesting thing was the alarm horn sounding from the coastal watchtower. Interesting? Certainly. Panic-inducing? That too. So Interesting was the occurrence that the feast ground to an immediate halt, the newlywed couple in their wedding bed shot up, and the collective population of Fedje reached for the closest weapon. The horn meant one of two things - a raid, or the risk of one. With half of the people who could wield weapons drunk, including the chief and his lieutenant, this was perhaps the worst time for a raid to occur. Nevertheless, there was family and home to protect, so the armed forces of Fedje made their way to the harbor as quickly as they could.

What faced them on the water was more than they had ever experienced before. Fedje had repelled raids in the past, but never were more than a few ships attacked at once. On the water was a full fleet, at least 20 longboats strong and armed to the brim with viking soldiers. If it came to battle, as it appeared like to, then it was unlikely Fedje would win. They were vikings, though, and stubborn bastards because of it. Also, they had Hiccup and his dragons, who might be able to help them if they couldn't pull off a win on their own. After all, not even the dragon-fighting vikings on Berk had ever

taken down a night fury.

"Cheif!" Astrid ran up to the stone slab the Chief was starting to plan battle strategy on.

"What do you want miss? You're supposed to be in bed with your husband"

"No, I heard the call of warning. I recognize the crest on the sails. It looks like the entire village of Berk is on our shores!"

"The entire village? Why would they send the entire village on a raiding party? We don't even have that much to steal!"

"I'm not sure they are. They don't tend to bother with other tribes. Send someone out to parley. They might be here for something else"

Parley was an interesting concept. It involved sending out an envoy to attempt to treat with an opposing force before battle. It could be viewed as a type of surrender by some, or a cowardly action, which meant it was generally viewed as traif, forbidden. In this case, though, the chief had more to consider. His wife was pregnant again after over a decade of having Heather, and he couldn't risk the future of his line and tribe because he didn't want to be viewed as a coward.

"Very well. Heather! Take the smallest boat and find out what it is they want"

Not even waiting to reply, Heather rushed off down the docks and deftly untied a small row boat from the end of the dock, usually used for children, and began rowing towards the slowly approaching fleet.

0000

Chief Spitelout of Berk watched the small craft approach from the shore. He didn't know which tribe this was, nor did he particularly care. They were obviously inferior, for instead of immediately engaging them in battle for trespassing near their land they were sending someone to talk. Spitelout despised talking. He was good at one thing, and that was battle. He had won his title by killing his predecessor, Stoick, after he refused to send ships after the whore who crippled his son. His son would never get to Valhalla now, as he would never be able to die an honorable death in battle. Instead he was doomed to lie in bed until age or sickness take him.

But that didn't matter now. The boat was drawing near.,

0000

Heather was nervous. She had overheard what Astrid had said to the chief, and knew enough about Berk from long hours spent talking with Hiccup to know that the vikings of Berk were some of the most warlike, trained from an extremely young to fight the swarms of dragons that threatened them on an almost monthly basis. So, when she approached the lead ship, she had a growing urge to turn and flee. But she was a viking, and she had been given a duty by her chief and father, which she would not, _could not,_ forsake.

Once she was within hearing range, some 10 meters out, she announced herself. "I have come to claim Parley for the people of Fedje. May I board?"

"Approach slowly, and climb up the side" A voiced echoed out from the middle of the ship.

Cautiously, she followed the orders she was given, and found herself on board the longship at the point of at least five swords and an ax. Gulping, she did what she was sent to do "I have been sent to inquire as to the intentions of the fleet hailing from Berk, and to negotiate with the Chief if need be. Where is Stoick the Vast?"

"Your information,, while impressive, is outdated" A viking said as he strode through the ranks to stand in front of her, eyeing her up and down. He was not very tall, but still much taller than Heather. He had black hair, tinged with grey, and a short black beard, and wore a large sword at his side, and a large fur cloak, on his back. "I am Spitelout, Chief of Berk. We have been blown of course in pursuit of a nest of dragons, and require a place to dock and supplies to restock our ships before we depart. We have some bales of wool, copper, and the services of our smith to offer you"

This, Heather knew, was not a fair trade. Still, it was better than a raid, which would surely result in more even more getting taken and with nothing in return. Also, knowing Berk's attitude towards dragons, she knew that they would need time to remove their small flock of the beasts that they used or they would get slaughtered, perhaps along with Hiccup and Astrid.

"Very well. You will anchor here tonight. Tomorrow you may dock in the harbor, but we cannot hold all your ships. We will make space for you to pitch your tents and gather supplies tonight" The Chief looked like he wanted to argue, perhaps because he didn't want to be seen taking orders from a young girl (as he saw her, despite her being almost 18), but instead just nodded and swept away, his cloak flapping behind him like a vampire as he stalked away. Heather decided this was a good time to leave, and climbed down into her boat to give the news to her tribe.


	5. Something smells off

Disclaimer: Owning is managerialism, which will lead to total global extinction. Don't own things! Heidegger FTW!

Once Heather made it back to the shore, she was immediately assaulted by questions from those around her. The Chief, however, quickly managed to quiet the people down and ask what the fleet wanted.

"They were blown off course dragon-hunting. They need supplies, and will trade us wool & copper for food and fresh water." Heather reported "They will need a place to camp for the night, and will arrive tomorrow morning. We need to get the dragons out of here, or they'll slay them all."

"We'll take them further up the island" Hiccup and Astrid volunteered "we can keep them with us for two nights, and when we return the Berkians should be gone. I don't like the deal they offered, though. How many bales of wool did they specify?"

"They didn't say. But it's this or war" Heather replied "You'll need to get going immediately, if you want to get all the dragons rounded up with enough food for them to eat for the next few days"

"Okay" Hiccup answered "Is that okay with you Chief?'

The Chief paused, deep in thought (his thought process being slowed by the copious amounts of mead he had been consuming at the wedding) before nodding his assent. He than began bellowing orders to gather the supplies the Berk fleet would need and clear off a portion of land for a camp.

0000

The docking of the Berk ships went as smoothly as could be expected, and by noon, all ships were either docked or anchored out of the harbor. The Berk soldiers had set up a camp in the land the Fedje chief had ordered cleared the previous night, and began to load up the supplies Fedje provided them. The final count was 16 barrels of wheat and other assorted supplies exchanged for five barrels of wool and two bars of copper. The trade, while heavily weighted towards the Berk side, was more fair than the islanders were expecting from the army currently living on their doorstep. It also wouldn't completely drain their warehouses, as the introduction of dragons as load – beasts had drastically increased their crop output. The winter would be hard, but still survivable.

It was the second day that things started to go wrong. The Berk soldiers had noticed something odd about Fedje, and had called a secret town meeting in their camp to discuss what was happening in Fedje. Gobber opened it:

"Alright. So, we normally wouldn't care about these things, not our business after all, but something's weird here. I offered my services as a smith as per the deal, but they said they already had one. When I saw the smithy, though, it was completely empty. Nobody would tell me where the smith was"

"Something happened to me too" Fishlegs called out. He had lost a lot of his weight and caring nature when he lost an arm to outcasts last year. This incident had also made him much less trusting and more wary. "They had these huge rigs hooked up to their plows, bigger than any I had ever seen. Far too big for even oxen. And when they caught me looking at them, they tried to chase me off with swords. Said I was trespassing."

"I definitely agree." Spitelout said from his spot in the circle "I was discussing terms for the food deal with the chief, and we passed a massive wooden building, as big as the mead hall. The doors were covered in what looked like claw marks, but the chief wouldn't tell me anything about it. Said I was a guest, and should not concern myself with the troubles of Fedje."

The conversation continued in a similar manner for the next few minutes, each person in the circle voicing their experiences of something odd that had happened to them in the town. Things that the people refused to discuss, attempting to dissuade the Berk soldiers from investigating them.

"Alright, so we know something's going on around here What do we want to do?" Gobber addressed the assembled group again.

"I say we go to their chief, and _demand_ an answer" Tuffnut called out, gaining a large amount of mumbled support from the surrounding vikings "We need to make sure what they're doing won't hurt us"

The merits and demerits of this plan, simple as it was, were then debated by the townspeople. After a few minutes, though, Chief Spitelout interrupted the proceedings.

'I agree with Tuffnut. They're doing something here, and we need to find out what. We'll finish loading up the ships tonight, but instead of heading out like they want us to we'll wait just out of sight, and return at dawn. We will get to the bottom of this"

The meeting was thusly dismissed, and plans were set in motion that would change the course of history.

0000

The attack took place at dawn, when most of Fedje lay asleep in their beds, except for a small night watch. Berk soldiers crept into the town, and disarmed the watch in a single fluid maneuver using stealth skills honed by years of fighting dragons. Other soldiers went into the homes of the warriors, disarmed them, and stood guard over them while they slept. The entire military action took place in half an hour, coming to a conclusion when Spitelout led a troupe of soldiers into the chief's hall, and held him and his wife at spearpoint.

"Now" the Berk chief stated "You'll tell us what is going on here."

To the chief's credit, he did not begin to speak until Spitelout swung his sword at his wife's head, when he began to tell Spitelout everything to prevent his pregnant wife's murder. Hiccup, the dragons, Astrid, and everything that had happened since.

0000

It was a much grimmer Spitelout who left the chief's hall to address his soldiers an hour later.

"Dragon Sickness, the lot of them."

"What do you mean?" asked one of the warriors in the town.

"They've been bewitched by the beasts!" He told the gathered warriors "They think that they're friends with them, just like the traitor did. They're also playing host to the whore who crippled my son and the traitor, but hid her with the dragons. They must have been tricked by the traitor and his dragon, or perhaps are being controlled to provide the dragons with food. The weak minded fools. No real vikings would ever work wi-"

Here Spitelout was interrupted by the one thing the vikings of Berk truly, deeply feared; the call of an attacking night fury.

"NIGHT FURY!"

"GET DOWN!"

This event actually served the villagers of Fedje far better than would be expected from such a seemingly mild occurrence. After the countless flights of Hiccup and Toothless, they didn't react to the call at all. It was just a part of life, and they had never had to face a night fury in battle before either. The finely toned instincts of the Berk soldiers, however, meant that they instantly threw themselves under their shields and curled up into balls. After all, what else was there to do when faced with the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself?

This provided the opportunity for the Fedje townspeople to take the upper hand. After all the Berkians threw themselves into balls on the floor, they grabbed the closest thing that could count as a weapon and trapped their foes where they lay. It was the single greatest military turnaround in viking history.

In the town square, similar actions were taking place. Once Spitelout realized there was no impending attack he uncurled himself and looked around. All of his soldiers were being held at swordpoint by enraged Fedje men and women, and in front of him was a man who looked like death himself to the cowering chief. Dressed in black leather armor, a bow on his back, a sword at his side, and another sword in his hand, right in the chief's face, that was literally _on fire_. The chief had never felt closer to death, and could feel the heat on his skin.

"Where is my Father?"

Despite his fear, Spitelout tried to answer as bravely as he could "Who? You must be mistaken boy, I have no idea who your father is"

"Oh, does Spitelout not recognize me? I suppose it makes sense, doesn't it Astrid? After all, you're always talking about how big I've gotten"

Stifling a smile despite herself, Astid answered "Somehow, I don't think that's what he's using as a reference Hiccup. Is there something you want to tell me? Perhaps, though, we should ask him again. Spitelout, where is Stoick the Vast?"

Suddenly, everything clicked for the Berk chief. The man with the firesword was the traitor, and the bitch standing next to him was the whore who paralyzed his son and heir. Howling with rage, he threw himself at the whore, only to be stopped by an extreme pain in his chest, where the firesword had burned through his clothes and was searing his skin. He settled back, grimicing from the pain and smell of his own burning flesh, before answering with a sneer.

"He's _dead_, whore. I killed him. Just like I'm going to kill you."

At this, Hiccup nearly beheaded the man. He stopped, though, as he had never murdered anyone, and was not about to start now despite the insult to his newlywed wife. Instead, he decided to answer with a sneer to match Spitelout's own.

"Here's how it's going to go now. You and your soldiers will return to your boats. You will leave us alone. You will not return. If you do, you will die. Do you understand?"

Spitelout, though, would not give up. He was a viking, after all, and would not bow to a traitor. "You may have won today, traitor, but it won't happen again. We'll return, and when we do, we'll free this village from the sickness of dragons, and I'll take the bitch's head for my own. Mark my words, we will return"

A/N: Heidegger was very odd.

A/N2: I normally won't update so often, but I had the first four chapters written already, and this one was mostly done when I published this. Don't expect to wait more than a week for an update, though.


	6. Now is the winter of our discontent

Disclaimer: Schmidt tells us that there are only enemies and friends, nothing else. Whoever owns this is my enemy, because they are preventing me from owning it.

A short description of Fedje island:

Fedje is a relatively small island rising out of the sea some few hundred kilometers from Berk. The island is bordered by short, sheer cliffs of 10-20 feet witch extend down to the water, except for the harbor, which is located in a small cove at the end of a small slope. The town occupies the southern tip of the island, next to the harbor. About a third of the forest on the island has been cleared for crops, and the is a lake in the middle of the fields that fills with water when it rains. A small meadow on the northern edge holds a few paddocks of goats, which are used for milk and meat. When combined with fish, the fields and herd provide enough food to sustain the small population throughout the year.

Fedje has a perfect defensible position. Largely self-sustainable, with cliffs to prevent easy invasion by sea. It was these geographical features that had allowed the people on the island to prevent viking raids, even though they weren't as warlike as many other tribes. Now, though, they were not at risk of defending against a few ships. The entire armed forces of Berk, likely along with its allied tribes, were going to be beating on their doorstep once the ocean had thawed in the spring. They had only a few months to try to build decent fortifications for their island, while still maintaining other necessary tasks, such as farming and trading.

Fortunately, the few dragons brought by Hiccup to the island were making the whole task easier for the vikings. The massive beasts could easily move the large chunks of stone that were being turned into walls and fortifications around the town, and the fire of the Deadly Nadder could actually melt some of the rocks to help build the structures. Hiccup had modified his launcher that he had used to take down Toothless, and it could now shoot iron arrows coated in Deadly Nightmare venom, which could then be set on fire to take down ships from a distance. Most of his spare time was spent working on building theses launchers, and he spent many long hours in the forge. The entire town was preparing for war, which they knew was coming for them whether they wanted it or not.

0000

Astrid was tired. Tired and cold. She had opted to chase down the rumors of a mysterious dragon rider who went after dragon trappers and to try to recruit he or she and their dragons to fight against Berk that they had heard of from visiting traders. If there really was another dragon rider out there, they could be a vital ally in the coming war. It had taken her two weeks to convince Hiccup to allow her to go alone. She was the most skilled dragon rider on the island, except for perhaps Heather and Hiccup. Heather was daughter to the chief, who wouldn't let her go, and Hiccup would be needed in the forge. Also, she had a year of practice surviving on her own. If anyone would go, it would have to be her.

So here she was, winging her way across the sea on her Deadly Nadder, chasing rumors of rumors. She had been spotted twice in the first week, and had been almost shot down both times by angry vikings. Now, she only flew during the night. This had the added advantage of stealth, but meant that the flying was cold, especially with the Scandinavian winter setting in. Shivering at that thought, she drew her cloak closer to herself and tried to hunker down on her dragon to get out of the wind. It was going to be a long night, but she had to do this if it could help the people of the island that had taken Hiccup and her in, especially as they were at least indirectly responsible for the threat that was now facing Fedje.

0000

Hiccup, too, was tired. Tired of the work, the war on the horizon, and of the snow. He spent far too long in the forge each day, working the roaring flames, trying to do everything he could to prepare Fedje. They couldn't even use most of their dragons in the battle, as the vikings from Berk had spent their entire lives training to kill them. And he was sick of being away from Astrid. The year when they were apart before had been hard, but at least then he thought that she was still happy and safe on Berk. Now, she was trying to find a mysterious dragon rider they weren't even sure existed, and he couldn't even go with her. They had only been married for two days before she was trying to leave. He allowed himself some grim amusement at that, before getting back to work on the next fire arrow. He found it ironic that the very copper Berk had traded them would now be sent back to them as the flaming heads of iron arrows fired from the machines they ostracized him for building.

0000

Astrid was elated. A month and a half into her trip, she had finally found a definite location of the elusive dragon rider. Just a day's flight from where she was now, she would finally be able to meet the character that had caused her to be sent on this Odin-forsaken trip in winter.

0000

Fedje had come a long way in the two months since the foiled attack. The clash of sword on sword echoed across the island nonstop since a training program was established, and walls of charred stone had risen up around the frozen island. Building of the walls had had to stop a month in when the ground became to hard to work with, but had resumed once a villager had figured out to use controlled bursts of dragon fire to thaw the frozen ground. The few fires that were caused by this method were dealt with by smothering them with snow, and only a few houses were irreparably damaged. War was coming, and they would be ready.

0000

Astrid gasped as the structure came into view. It looked like a massive mound of ice, but it was clearly not natural. It was covered in spikes that stuck out at all angles, even straight up. Some sort of ice dragon? She thought, and could not understand what the point of this place was. Then something caught her eye, a flash of color. Focusing on it, she saw a dragon slip through what looked like a crack in the ice, but was obviously something more, as the entire dragon quickly vanished into the hole. She decided to gently direct her Deadly Nadder down the crevice, and gazed up in wonder at the room she found herself in.

Not an ice mound. A dome. she thought, as she examined the pristine beauty of the surrounding area. It was teeming with dragons, waterfalls, plants, and volcanic rock all seeming to come alive under the light that filtered through the ice. And there, at the bottom of the enormous cavern, was the largest dragon she had ever seen. So distracted was she by the masive white dragon, she almost missed the woman standing on a ledge near it. Almost, but not quite. Shaking her head to clear her awe, she landed on the other side of the ledge and waited for the woman to notice her.

She was surprised, almost, that the woman looked so normal. Long brown hair, tinged with grey, and her form was built of the type of muscles gained from hours of riding dragons. That made sense, she supposed, given that she was likely the vigilante dragon rider that the rumors had spoken about. If she could get the huge dragon to come with them to defend Fedje, then there was no way Berk could hope to defeat them. If they were very lucky, the Berk fleet might even turn around and leave at the sight of it.

The woman actually noticed her dragon first, before seeing her. Astrid wondered if she knew all the dragons in her little sanctuary, which was why she seemed surprised at its appearance here. However, she quickly noticed the saddle, and her eyes darted to Astrid, and she began to growl threateningly.

Noticing the dangerous look in the woman's eyes, Astrid decided to raise her hands in a common gesture of peace. Of course, this also put her right hand near the handle of her ax, which she had strapped to her back upside-down for this very purpose. Still, though, this seemed to placate the woman.

When the woman seemed calmer, although still likely shocked by the appearance of another dragon rider, Astrid took a moment to examine her. She wore simple clothes, which she likely made herself. She had her hair tied back off of her face, which was sharp and pointed. She was certainly a picture of beauty in her youth, and was still attractive now. And her eyes... it was like staring into her husband's eyes, the very same shade of green. She wondered if they were related somehow, after all, green eyes weren't common, and they were both dragon riders. She put that thought away for later. The woman seemed to be making growling noises again, working her throat and scowling in concentration. Astrid realized that she must be trying to talk, and waited where she was for the dragon rider to succeed.

Finally, the woman seemed to have regained control of her vocal chords. "Who are you? What do you want?" She ground out.

"I am Astrid of Fedje. I have been sent to find the rouge dragon rider who has been attacking trappers, and to try and get them to aid us in protecting our island from those who would slaughter our dragons to 'free us of their bewitchment'."

"And how do I know you are who you say you are? I have never head of Fedje, nor their dragons. I have enemies. How do I know you are not one of them?"

"The dragons are a new development. We've only made peace with them in the past few years. The very fact that I ride a willing dragon myself should be enough to convince you that I do not mean you or your dragons harm" Astrid stopped herself, realizing that she might have been too aggressive for someone who had come to ask a favor. She decided it was time to swallow her pride and beg. After all, this woman's dragons might be able to save Fedje. With that in mind, she fell to her knees and continued talking, but with a much more pleading tone than before. "Please. We cannot defend against these people on are own. We are too few in number, and the vikings of Berk will kill all of our dragons if we cannot fight them off. Why, your dragons alone could send them fleeing before the battle has begun. Please - "

"Stop." The dragon rider interrupted her, before sighing, and turning away with a sad look apon her face. "I will not fight Berk. You can send your dragons here, they will be safe. But I cannot fight them for you."

Hearing this, Astrid was getting desperate. She had not come this far for nothing. "No! Please! They'll kill me and Hiccup for leaving them, and we need the dragons to help us survive!"

Here, the dragon rider stopped, turned back to face Astrid, and examined her closely. She slowly began to speak again, asking a simple question. "Who is this Hiccup who left Berk?"

Swallowing, and cursing herself for revealing too much, Astrid answered "He's my husband. He was the Chief's son on Berk, but he befriended a dragon and they banished him for it. We live together on Fedje now."

"I see." She stopped, considering what she had just heard "Leave me now. I will arrive within a month of the thaw to help you." Considering the conversation finished, she began walking to a cave on the side of the ledge.

Astrid, though, saw one last thing that needed to be addressed.

"But how will you know where to find us?" she asked

Pausing in her stride, the woman answered without turning around "Leave an article of clothing here. Something with your scent. I will use it to find you. Now leave!"

A/N: You've made it this far. Why not review?


	7. Arm yourselves

Disclaimer: I'm running out of philosophers. Perhaps I really do own this?

Fedje had come a remarkable way in a few short months, thanks in no small part to the island's dragons. The island, which had once been a peaceful fishing town, now resembled a powerful fortress. The cliffs surrounding the town were capped with high stone walls, atop which were mounted Hiccup's ballistae. The harbor in the cove was protected from all sides, and what had been a path up to the town from the docks was now a thick gate surrounded by stone. The citizens of Fedje felt confident that they could defend themselves and their people from whatever Berk could throw at them.

0000

Hiccup was restless. The seas were thawing, now, and Astrid had still not returned. His mind was fraught with worry over the whereabouts of his newlywed wife and of what Berk was going to do. Unlike the others on Fedje, who felt confident that their new, high, walls would protect them from whatever Berk could throw at them, he knew Berk. Not only were they truly stubborn and would stop at nothing, evidenced by their countless failed attempts on the dagons' nest, they had a number of allies. Allies that they could and would call apon for this war. The new fortress was strong, yes, but they could not survive an extended seige for too long without fish, and their access to the sea would surly be cut off by the attacking fleet. A large enough force could maintain a position almost indefinitely, whereas they would be without supplies in a few months. Their only hope would be to cause the invading army so much damage that they could not hope to keep their position, but their ballistae could only shoot so many arrows, and he couldn't risk going out on Toothless too much to get more supplies.

Hiccup sighed, and rubbed his brow. Everything had go to hell so quickly, it seemed.

0000

Astrid was anxios to be home. She hadn't come home quite as quickly as she had left, as she feared exhausting herself in the cold weather, and it had appeared that winter was still going strong. That was until she realized she was far north of Fedje which was warmer then where she currently was. Apon having that realization, she began to rush so as to try to get back before the thaw as she had promised Hiccup. She had failed, though, as it was currently a few days afterwards the promised date, but at least her home was finally in sight on the horizon. Soon she would be safe and warm, back in her husband's arms, just in time to fight a war for survival.

Damn. Her life just wasn't easy sometimes.

0000

The people of Fedje awoke to an alarm horn. Hiccup shot up, panicked, and quicly shook Astrid awake. She had just arrived yesterday and was exhausted from her flight and her pôst-flight activities with her husband.

It was too early for Berk to arrive, Hiccup knew. It was a three-week trip from Berk to Fedje, and the thaw only happened two weeks ago. Had Berk left before the snow was gone? That was suicide! The water would freeze on the rigging, on the ships, and they would have lost half their crew to frostbite. Spitelout wasn't that viscious...so what was happening?

Once he threw on his coat, and ensured that Astrid was ready, he ran out the door and up to the watchtower they had built with the help of dragons. He joined a crowd that was already up there, trying to spot the enemy. What he saw surprised him. The ships on the horizon weren't Berk ships, but he knew them well. They were the Bog Burglar vessels.

He had known the Bog Burglar heir, Camicazi, since long before he left Berk. After a run in with her while they were trading with Fedje, she became the second person to know who he really was, as she had recognized him immediately from previous encounters. They had quickly rebuilt their friendship from when he was the heir of Berk after meeting up again, and the Bogs came to Fedje more often than before, likely because she wanted them to, giving them even more time together (the heir of a tribe, after all, carried a certain amount of political power). Hiccup and Cami had shared a breif relationship before Astrid had arrived, but had ended it after agreeing that they didn't really feel anything for eachother but friendship. Hiccup knew that they wouldn't ally with Berk, so what were they doing here with a fleet of twleve ships? That was far too many to be a trading convoy.

0000

The ships reached the newly-fortified harbor by noon. If they were surprised by the new fortifications, they didn't show it. When the Bog chief stepped off her boat to address the Fedje leader, they all learned what they were doing there.

"Well! I heard ya got yourselves in a spot of trouble! We thought we might well lend a hand to our good friends. Don't hurt you that Berk's started to get in on our trade routes now that they got their new chief, mind."

Glad to have an ally in the upcoming war, the Fedje chief welcomed them with open arms, and began to factor the new ships into their battle plan. For Hiccup, it meant introducing Cami to Astrid, who had managed to avoid eachother before, and trying to convince Astrid that nothing was happening between them anymore. Whoever said married life was bliss had obvioiusly never tried it.

0000

Ten days after the arrival of the Bog Burglars, new masts were sighted on the horizon. As the fleet came into view, the people of Fedje grew nervous. Nearly a hundred longships strong, they were beginning to doubt their ability to hold their fort against such a large force. Berk must have called in every favor and every ally for this battle, and probably paid a fair bit of money for hired swords as well. It wouldn't be nearly as easy as they thought it would be earlier. Now, their hope for an easy win lay in the dragon lady that Astrid had found, and her dragons.

0000

On a mercenary ship, a man named Drago Bloodfist scowled at the island. He had hidden his identity and signed abord once he heard what Berk was fighting, as he needed to know if anyone else had an Alpha and could challenge him. The island clearly wasn't large enough to hide an Alpha, at least not a big one, so it looked like they had some other method of controlling dragons, or didn't have dragons at all. It didn't matter, though. There was no way they could hope to stand against a fleet this large, and then he would find out what they were doing on that island. No one would challenge his control over dragons once this was over. He would rule supreme.

A/N: One more chapter after this, and perhaps a short epilogue. I know this chapter was short, but the next one will contian the entire battle and ending.

A/N2: Despite my lack of philosophers to use in disclaimers, I really don't own this.

A/N3: I do not cause the formatting errors that come up. That's a bug in the doc manager portion of .


	8. A red dawn rises

It took a full day after the first sighting of the ships for them to get close enough to get a good view of the fleet. At least a hundred longships strong, the enemy vikings had clearly come prepared for war. The ships halted some few hundred yards offshore, throwing down anchors and dropping their sails just as the sun was beginning to cast rainbow hues over the sky. Once all the ships had stopped, a single, small boat approached the shore, stopping a few feet out from the base of the fortifications, and delivering an ultimatum.

"People of Fedje! We understand the torment you have suffered at the hands of dragons, but you need not suffer any longer – throw off your shackles, and we will not be forced to enter your homes by force. Give us the traitors, and we shall be on our way with only a minor tithe for our support. Do not condemn yourselves to death"

An unknown Fedje viking summed up the feelings of the island quite well "It shall be Ragnarok before we surrender to bigoted imbecile from Berk, and pay them for it!"

Not even responding, the ship headed back for the fleet. The second the ship arrived, the fleet began to raise sails again, and started to move slowly, aiming to storm the harbor as the sky grew dark.

0000

Fedje had been preparing and redoing a strategy to defend against a naval attack since the Bog Burglars had arrived. All of the ships, including the Bogs' war boats, had been taken around to the rear of the island. The fishing boats and small craft had been pulled out of the water and into the forest, and the warships were anchored close to the shore with their crews ready and waiting. After the chief had determined that Berk's forces made to attack the harbor, he ordered for the attack plan they had designed for this situation to come into play. Hiccup would dive bomb the enemy ships with Toothless, as they were the only dragon/rider pair quick enough to avoid capture or death by the well-trained Berk vikings. Meanwhile, the ballistae would wait until the majority of the ships had reached the harbor to lull the Berk ships into a false sense of security before raining death and fire from both sides of the cove where the harbor was located with Hiccup's fire arrows. In order to prevent the enemy ships from invading and regrouping, the Fedje and Bog Burglar warships would sail around to the mouth of the harbor and block them off as best they could.

0000

Drago smiled viciously. For all their high walls, these dragon riders couldn't even protect themselves from the might of a viking fleet. Sure, the Nightfury was a nuisance, but there were far too many ships here for it to sink before they stormed the harbor. Fedje's defenses would all be for naught, and then he would find out how they were able to control the dragons, and get that night fury for himself, too.

The smile was still on his face when hellfire suddenly rained down upon him and a burning iron lance shot through his head and punched a hole in the bottom of his ship, sinking it into the harbor. The rapidly darkening dusk had become hell itself in a single moment.

0000

Unfortunately, the surprise attack by Fedje hadn't destroyed the Berk offensive. The Harbor was not too deep, and many of the Berk vikings had managed to swim to the docks after escaping the inferno that was their ships. Many now lay dead at the bottom of the sea, but half the invasion force, roughly five hundred vikings, had managed to make it to the shore and were now attempting to break in the gate guarding the town proper. It wouldn't be long before they succeeded, and by this point the Ballistae had run out of arrows to fire and the soldiers on the cove walls were reduced to chucking rocks and bits of rubble.

0000

Hiccup had landed Toothless after the bulk of the naval assault was over. They had sunk at least eight ships on their own, and the idea of so much death made him want to curl up in a ball and cry for a week. Right now, though, he still had a part to play. He had to get the dragons that could fight to the harbor, where they could burn the enemy troops if they broke through the gate. He hoped Astrid was alright. She had been one of the ones on the Fedje ships trapping the Berk ships in the harbor. If she and her boat managed to make it out okay, at least she would be able to sail away to safety if they couldn't defend the island.

0000

The chief of Fedje island looked at those gathered around him. He had some forty men and women and ten dragons with him at the gate to the harbor. Anyone else was either too young, too old, crippled, or helping the young, old, and crippled make it to the fishing boats beached at the back of the island. This war was a matter of pride for them, not about the dragons or Hiccup and Astrid. No one came to their island and told them how to live their lives. Now, though, it seemed they were about to give their lives for that pride. Despite everything, their best efforts at defense had failed. The enemy was simply too numerous. He took some solace in knowing that half their enemies, at least half a thousand men, now lay on the bottom of the sea. But right now, the banging on the gates was getting louder, and he knew that after they broke, his rear guard and their dragons couldn't hold against five hundred soldiers. He and his men would die in the darkness, but hopefully their families would be safe.

Then, a horn blew.

0000

Valka was distraught. She was about to go into battle against her own people, likely some of her own people, to save her son. If he was still alive. She could see the scene from where she was on Cloudjumper, and she had never seen so much fire and death in one place illuminating the night sky so well, not even during the worst of the dragon raids on Berk. On this trip she had brought only a few score of normal dragons for had she brought the White King they wouldn't have made it in time. Then, she heard a horn from down below. She had been spotted despite the cover of night. She had made a commitment, a promise, to Fedje and her daughter-in-law, and now she had to fulfill it. She motioned for her dragons to dive, and prepared to fight those who had been her friends and family.

0000

Spitelout was high on a rush of adrenaline and blood-lust. This was what a battle was supposed to be like. He did not care that hundreds of his soldiers lay dead under the waves beneath his feet, nor did he really care about the village he was attacking. He just wanted to see the look of horror on that bitch's face when he drove his sword into her skull for what she did to his son. With these thoughts in mind, he kept encouraging the vikings beating at the gate. Finally, the hinges snapped and the gate broke free. Just as the first vikings began to rush into the town and straight into bursts of dragon fire, he heard a horn ring out loud and clear over the fighting.

0000

After the first vikings through the gates fell to dragon fire, Hiccup decided that he wanted to do his utmost to avoid smelling burning flesh again. Soon, though, generations of dragon-fighting instincts kicked in, and his dragons began to get pushed back, leaving the fighting to himself and the vikings with him. The path up to the town from the harbor formed a choke point, preventing the Berk soldiers from rushing them en masse, but they were still being overwhelmed by sheer numbers. He could see the swarm of dragons that the dragon lady had brought with her attacking the other end of the Berk troops, and hoped that she and her dragons would manage to take down enough of them that they could survive against the rest.

0000

Spitelout was enraged. All of these dragons had just appeared out of nowhere and suddenly started to attack his men, preventing him from taking out the whore. This must have been what the horn signalized, he decided, as he tried to analyze the new factor in the battle. 'Ah, there' he thought, when he noticed something off about one of the dragons. It had a person riding on it, a person in strange armor perhaps, but certainly a person. If he could take her out, then the dragons might stop fighting. If they didn't, well, he'd have gotten rid of one more dragon-lover. Taking careful aim with his sword, he flung it just as the dragon rider was passing overhead. Although he missed the rider, he was able to hit her dragon and heard it give out a strangled scream before watching it disappear, falling into the night outside of the walls of the town. He quickly grabbed a sword from a dead man next to him and jumped back into the fray.

0000

After Cloudjumper had been knocked out of the sky, Valka had been thrown free, flying through the air before coming to a sudden stop against the mast of a viking longship. She was painfully aware of the crack her back had made when she crashed into the ship, and of the blood pooling around her unfeeling legs. As she lay against the wooden mast, she looked around quickly for someone to pass a message to her son. She could feel herself bleeding out, and knew she didn't have too much time. She felt pure relief when she spotted her daughter in law as one of the faces on the ships, and motioned for her to come over weakly.

"Girl... I need you to tell my son that I love him, and I hope he would -" here, she broke off into a fit of coughing, spitting up blood as the silence allowed Astrid a chance to speak

"What do you mean? I don't know your son"

"Hiccup! He's my son. Tell him... tell him I'm sorry, so sorry, so sorr..." Valka mumbled as she slid further down the mast, coughed one last time, and closed her eyes.

Confused and angry, Astrid just kept trying to demand answers from the mysterious woman who had just claimed to be Hiccup's mother, even after she had stopped breathing. Once she realized that the woman was dead Astrid collapsed, hating the insanity of everything that had happened since sunset and withing it was over.

0000

Valka's death had had the opposite effect on the dragons that Spitelout intended. For many in the dragon force, Valka had served as a mother to them after they lost their own parents to hunters and traps, or as a friend or sister in the nest. That she was now dead because of these vikings _enraged_ the dragons, and they began fighting with a fury that the Berk forces could never hope to match. They could not hope to survive such an onslaught of dragons.

0000

It seemed like the battle ended quickly to Hiccup, especially after the fighting had lasted so long. One moment, they were on their last legs, fighting off oncoming viking forces, when the next they were staring at dragons, who had been fighting their way through from the other side of the harbor. It was over, and they had managed to come out on top just as the sun began to peek over the eastern horizon.

The final casualty counts were heavily weighted against Berk. At least a thousand of the invading force had died, including Spitelout, who fell to a large Monstrous Nightmare. A final body count was impossible as most of the invading force lay on the bottom of the sea, and the rest of the bodies were burning in the red dawn light. Only twenty three had survived to be able to surrender, and they were sent back the next day on one of the few surviving Berk ships. Fedje had lost thirty seven. Twenty had died protecting the harbor, sixteen fell when their boat was destroyed by a ramming Berk longship, and an elderly woman had tripped and fallen during the flight to the sea. Still, though, they had won against impossible odds, and those who died that day were making their way to Valhalla.

0000

Astrid would never tell Hiccup about what Valka had said on the boat. She had assumed that it was just the mad ramblings of a dying woman, one who had spent too long away from society. She did not want to bother him with what had happened, and everyone knew that his mother had died when he was just a young child to dragons. If she had been telling the truth, then she deserved not to know the son she had abandoned as a babe. Especially if she could have flown back to Berk at any time.

Hiccup and Astrid would live a long and happy life together, although they would never be blessed with any children. This didn't prevent their joy, however, and they lived on through all of those who remembered and cared for them.

After the defeat at Fedje, life on Berk was over. They had lost too many people and warriors to make continued life on the island possible. The vikings there emigrated, going to new tribes and villages and made new lives for themselves and their families. A few remained, but they had no children and quickly passed on. This proved to be the death of the dragon Queen under the volcano. Without humans to farm food for her, she and her dragons began to starve to death. When she sent them out further, they would fall under the domains of other Alphas and be forever lost to her. She died hungry and alone, unable to feed herself after decades of decadence and gluttony.

Fedje became a beacon of hope and prosperity in the viking archipelago, Hiccup's inventions and the aid of the dragons allowing the small island to become prominent through trade and wealth. Hiccup would build a fortune greater than any of his ancestors, and became one of the most-respected and well-remembered vikings of all time, bringing Fedje up with him. He was happy and fulfilled, and never regretted his decision to leave Berk with Toothless.

_fin._


End file.
